Carpenter Ant
Jeremiah Fargo strikes again, this time with a picture of a black ant.
I’m not sure on the species of this ant, but the general appearance lead me to suspect Camponotus pennsylvanicus, especially the abdominal hair pattern as shown here: http://bugguide.net/node/view/83531
Any takers on a positive id? This could also be a Formica ant, but I’m not sure.
Slowly getting the site back onto an even keel. It's nice to get back into the old posting rhythm.
JFargo said,
June 18, 2008 @ 3:42 pm
I don’t know. The bitey bits don’t look big enough on this one to be the same, do they?
And what’s up with the name? Camponotus pennsylvanicus? Look at it: Camp not Pennsylvania is what I see there. Someone really didn’t like their stint in the Boy Scouts in that state.
David Brady said,
June 19, 2008 @ 8:53 am
I don’t have my book handy, but notum is latin for a body part (I think it’s the head or skull). Campo is latin for “bell”. So your ant is the “Pennsylvanian bellhead ant”.
…assuming my ID is correct. You are right that the mandibles are way bigger. Could be worker vs. soldier, but as always it could also be “Dave got the ID wrong”.